Category Archives: Interviews

Interview: Florida Georgia Line + Budweiser Create Unique Partnership

Thanks to a special invite from Budweiser, Variety Beat was able to go on a private tour of the historic Ryman Auditorium and talk with Florida Georgia Line! Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley spoke about the Dig Your Roots tour, their single “H.O.L.Y.” and their summer plans!

FGL Talks The Dig Your Roots Tour Sponsored By Budweiser

“It’s an evolution of what we’ve been doing, it’s still high energy and we have a lot more elements and moments of production. To have Cole Swindell, The Cadillac Three  and Kane Brown is just a really good overall experience. Everybody brings something different to the table, maybe I’m biased but I think it’s maybe the best show on the road this year.” – Tyler Hubbard

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Fans can also expect some intimate moments during the show when FGL takes to the B-Stage with some of the opening acts to perform more of an acoustic set writer’s round to take it back to their roots!

FGL Talks The Dig Your Roots Album 

The boys have also had plenty of time to write while out on the road and have an album coming out this August! They said fans can expect more ballads on the Dig Your Roots album but they also have songs for everyone. There are party songs, live song, spiritual songs and some “feel good kind of reggae vibes.”

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The boys went on to say it’s very important to have a song to listen to no matter what kind of mood you are in, whether you want to cry, laugh, go to church or call your parents and tell them you love ’em.

Lately FGL’s music has seemed more personal and they shared that when they first came out they shared one side of who they are and now they are letting the fans into their lives, into their hearts, their emotions and where they came from.

They described the Dig Your Roots album as more mature as they have both done some “growing up” and life has changed a lot in the couple of few years, so their music has followed suit and evolved.

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FGL Talks About Their Current Single “H.O.L.Y.”

When we told FGL their single “H.O.L.Y.” (High On Loving You) was a beautiful love song and one you could picture yourself singing in church, they said that’s why they fell in love with it. They both got their start learning to sing and play guitar in church. The song is special to them and they feel that strong connection will relay to the fans and they will be able to feel that connection as well.

FGL Talks Their Summer Plans And Drinking Budweiser!

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In case you are wondering what FGL is doing this summer, besides touring, we made sure to ask! They said there is nothing more American than Country Music and Budweiser! They plan on doing some fly-fishing, going out in their RVs and drinking some Buds.

When they’re not enjoying Budweiser, they enjoy doing anything and everything outdoors, whether it’s riding dirt bikes, hiking, riding horses or doing some fishing.

Florida Georgia Line will also be having a special album release party with Budweiser later this summer! They said it is going to be the ultimate party and they are going to be filming behind the scenes footage to share!

Interview: Runaway June Talks Their New Single “Lipstick” And The Importance Of Women In Country Music

The dust of CMA Fest may have settled, but the post coverage is just beginning! What a wonderful weekend of seeing so many talented performers and having the chance to talk to some up and coming Country Music Acts!

Here at Variety Beat, we are big fans of Women of Country Music, so it was an honor to chat with a female trio by the name of Runaway June! The trio is made up of Naomi Cooke, who is 1 of 11 siblings (she dishes on what it was like growing up with so many!), Hannah Mulholland, who told us about her cooking blog and Jennifer Wayne who competed on the TV Show, The Amazing Race!

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The ladies share how they came up with their group name, their empowering single “Lipstick” (ladies you need a man who will ruin your lipstick, not your mascara- unless it’s for a good reason), their dream tours and why it’s important to have women be heard on Country Radio. Their side of the story needs to be heard after all. Let’s start empowering more female country artists, they sing the words other females connect with!

VIDEO: GET TO KNOW RUNAWAY JUNE AS THEY CHAT WITH VARIETY BEAT

LISTEN TO “LIPSTICK”

 

VB Interviews Stephanie Quayle: Talks “Drinking With Dolly” (Parton), Women Of Country Music & Being A Macy’s iHeartRadio Rising Star!

It was pretty amazing to be able to sit down and chat with the beautiful and talented Stephanie Quayle as she excitedly gushed about her single “Drinking With Dolly.” Of course, Dolly here being the one and only Dolly Parton. The single pays tribute to the great females of Country Music including as well, Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn.

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Women have previously had such a strong and important role in Country Music and hopefully with more songs like this, there will be a comeback and more of a welcome to Country Radio.

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Parton herself has caught wind of the song and loves it! There is an official lyric video coming soon and hopefully a music video as well!

Quayle is currently in the running to be Macy’s iHeartRadio Rising Star! At the time of the interview she was included in the top 25 and now results have come back and she is in the top 5! An incredible honor, thanks to the passion and voting of the fans! Keep voting for her at iheart.com up to 50x a day and you can also vote via twitter by using the hashtags #StephanieQuayle #RisingStar.

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Check out our interview below!

VIDEO: STEPHANIE QUAYLE CHATS WITH VARIETY BEAT

 

 

VB Interviews Brooke Eden, Talks “Daddy’s Money,” Dream Tours And Connecting With Fans

CMA Fest brought about amazing opportunities to sit down with artists like Brooke Eden! We had the opportunity to talk with Eden about her single “Daddy’s Money” which was inspired by her former roommates impression that she came from money. Eden explains the real life story and shares her passion for music and her commitment to always put in 100%.

Eden loves her fans and talks Snapchat and the best ways to communicate with them.

We even did a couple of snaps ourselves!

 She also shares some of the amazing artists she would love to go on tour with, Eric ChurchJason AldeanDierks Bentley and Brandy Clark to name a few!

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This was the fourth year Eden has performed at CMA Fest and she got to play on the biggest free stage this year – The Riverfront Stage! She shares her excitement and how she started off playing in the Honky Tonk Bars and how amazing it is to now perform for such a huge audience. Check out the full interview below and be sure to request “Daddy’s Money.”

VIDEO: BROOKE EDEN CHATS WITH VARIETY BEAT

 

Interview: Katie Armiger Talks New Music And CMA Fest! – Watch

It was such a joy to see Katie Armiger again recently! I am so glad her tour passed through California and Variety Beat was able to cover it! I had the chance to sit down with Armiger before the show and she shared her upcoming plans for CMA Fest (she will be performing and we are going to plan a get together).

We also spoke about her setlist and some of the new songs (“Issues” and “Love Hate Love“) she is performing and why they are special to her!

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WATCH: INTERVIEW WITH KATIE ARMIGER AND A SPECIAL GUEST CO-INTERVIEWER!

CMA Fest Schedule:

Friday, June 10

WSM Durango Stage @ Fan Fair X

Performance Slot: 10:30-10:55am

Autograph Booth: 11am-12pm

Willie Nelson & Friends Museum

Katie Armiger 4pm

Saturday, June 11

Katie Armiger

The Iceman Show

Alley Taps

12pm

Check out our video and photo gallery from the show!